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Nationals WSN

199171–90 (0.441)
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GM: Dave Dombrowski

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1991, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$10M
Surplus $M
+0
Win %
0.441
TAB
+2.8
WAB
-0.5
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
27.4
Dead money %
29%
Depth Players
6.0
Dead WAR
-4.8

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1991 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RGilberto Reyes80
RMike Fitzgerald54
LRon Hassey34
RNelson Santovenia30

1B

RAndres Galarraga105
LLarry Walker39
LTom Foley31
RNelson Santovenia7
RIvan Calderon4
LEric Bullock3
RMike Fitzgerald3
RJunior Noboa1
BBret Barberie1

2B

LDelino DeShields148
BBret Barberie10
RJunior Noboa6
LTom Foley2

3B

RTim Wallach149
BBret Barberie10
LTom Foley6
RJunior Noboa2

SS

BSpike Owen133
LTom Foley43
BBret Barberie19
RJunior Noboa2

LF

RIvan Calderon122
LDave Martinez36
LJohn Vander Wal17
RKenny Williams⇄10
LEric Bullock6
RMarquis Grissom3
RJunior Noboa1

CF

RMarquis Grissom130
LDave Martinez30
RKenny Williams⇄5
LLarry Walker4

RF

LLarry Walker100
LDave Martinez58
RKenny Williams⇄20
RJunior Noboa6
RMarquis Grissom6
LEric Bullock3
RMike Fitzgerald3
RNikco Riesgo2

DH

—

Starters

RDennis Martinez4.3 WAR
LChris Nabholz2.9 WAR
ROil Can Boyd⇄1.7 WAR
LBrian Barnes0.6 WAR
RMark Gardner0.5 WAR
LChris Haney0.4 WAR
RRick Mahler⇄0.3 WAR
RRon Darling⇄-0.4 WAR
RBill Sampen-0.9 WAR

Bullpen

★ RBarry Jones13 sv
LScott Ruskin0 h
LJeff Fassero0 h
RMel Rojas0 h
RTim Burke⇄0 h
LSteve Frey0 h
RDoug Piatt0 h
RDave Schmidt0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1990)

PlayerfWAR
Ivan Calderon3.5
Bret Barberie2.0
Jeff Fassero1.3
Gilberto Reyes1.0
Kenny Williams0.7
Chris Haney0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1990)

Player1990 fWAR
Kevin Gross2.9
Tim Raines Sr.2.4
Zane Smith2.0
Otis Nixon1.4
Mike Aldrete0.7
Scott Anderson0.3

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Nationals. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1991; everyone else is shown as a 1991 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Dennis Martinez 1991 +4.3 +74.7 3.3 +71.3 $0.8M 2.19× –
Larry Walker 1991 +3.8 +53.8 0.2 +53.6 $0.0M 1.79× –
Ivan Calderon 1991 +3.5 +50.4 2.2 +48.2 $0.6M 1.79× –
Chris Nabholz 1991 +2.9 +44.6 0.1 +44.5 $0.0M 1.96× –
Oil Can Boyd↔ 1991 +1.7 +20.2 0.9 +19.3 $0.5M 1.49× –
Dave Martinez 1991 +1.9 +18.3 0.1 +18.1 $0.1M 1.22× –
Brian Barnes 1991 +0.6 +5.2 0.1 +5.0 $0.2M 1.02× –
Kenny Williams↔ 1991 +0.7 +4.6 0.2 +4.4 $0.3M 0.83× –
Mark Gardner 1991 +0.5 +4.3 0.2 +4.1 $0.3M 1.02× –
Mel Rojas 1991 +0.3 +3.6 0.1 +3.5 $0.3M 1.34× –
Scott Ruskin 1991 +0.1 +1.4 0.1 +1.2 $1.2M 1.34× –
Bill Long 1991 -0.1 -0.5 0.4 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Nelson Santovenia 1991 -0.2 -0.9 0.3 -1.2 – 0.52× –
Steve Frey 1991 -0.3 -1.6 0.2 -1.7 – 0.67× –
Mike Fitzgerald 1991 -0.4 -1.5 0.7 -2.2 – 0.52× –
Ron Darling↔ 1991 -0.4 -3.1 0.2 -3.2 – 1.02× –
Barry Jones 1991 -0.4 -3.9 0.9 -4.8 – 1.34× –
Bill Sampen 1991 -0.9 -4.8 0.2 -4.9 – 0.67× –
Andres Galarraga 1991 -0.9 -3.9 – – – 0.56× –
Bret Barberie 1991 +2.0 +14.2 – – – 0.89× –
Chris Haney 1991 +0.4 +3.1 – – – 1.02× –
Dave Schmidt 1991 -0.2 -1.1 – – – 0.67× –
David Wainhouse 1991 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Delino DeShields 1991 +1.6 +10.3 – – – 0.82× –
Doug Piatt 1991 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Eric Bullock 1991 +0.0 +0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Gilberto Reyes 1991 +1.0 +4.0 – – – 0.52× –
Jeff Fassero 1991 +1.3 +13.6 – – – 1.34× –
John Vander Wal 1991 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.83× –
Junior Noboa 1991 -0.6 -2.8 – – – 0.56× –
Marquis Grissom 1991 +2.1 +20.4 – – – 1.22× –
Nikco Riesgo 1991 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.83× –
Rick Mahler↔ 1991 +0.3 +2.4 – – – 1.02× –
Ron Hassey 1991 +0.2 +0.7 – – – 0.52× –
Spike Owen 1991 +2.6 +24.6 – – – 1.18× –
Tim Burke↔ 1991 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Tim Wallach 1991 +0.5 +2.2 – – – 0.58× –
Tom Foley 1991 -0.4 -1.8 – – – 0.61× –
Total—+27.4+350.810.4+254.3—

Trades

Every graded 1991 deal involving the Nationals — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 12 total.

1991 · WSN / STL
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$124.8M
Ken Hill
STL · Dal Maxvill −$124.8M
Andrés Galarraga
WSN came out ahead by $124.8M
1991 · WSN / BAL
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$3.2M
Chris Myers
BAL · Roland Hemond −$3.2M
Richie Lewis
WSN came out ahead by $3.2M
1991 · WSN / OAK
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$5.6M
Matt Grott, Russ Cormier
OAK · Sandy Alderson −$5.6M
Ron Darling
WSN came out ahead by $5.6M
1991 · NYM / WSN
NYM · Frank Cashen +$3.2M
Terrel Hansen, Dave Sommer
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$3.2M
Darren Reed, Alex Diaz
NYM came out ahead by $3.2M
1991 · NYM / WSN
NYM · Frank Cashen +$4.0M
Tim Burke
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$4.0M
Ron Darling, Mike Thomas
NYM came out ahead by $4.0M
1991 · WSN / TEX
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$9.6M
Jonathan Hurst, Joey Eischen, Travis Buckley
TEX · Tom Grieve −$9.6M
Oil Can Boyd
WSN came out ahead by $9.6M
1991 · WSN / NYM
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$0.8M
Blaine Beatty
NYM · Frank Cashen −$0.8M
Jeff Barry
WSN came out ahead by $0.8M
1991 · WSN / PHI
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$16.0M
Darrin Fletcher
PHI · Lee Thomas −$16.0M
Barry Jones
WSN came out ahead by $16.0M
1991 · WSN / CIN
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$74.4M
John Wetteland, Bill Risley
CIN · Bob Quinn −$74.4M
Dave Martinez, Scott Ruskin, Willie Greene
WSN came out ahead by $74.4M
1991 · ATL / WSN
ATL · John Schuerholz +$31.2M
Otis Nixon, Boi Rodriguez
WSN · Dave Dombrowski −$31.2M
Jimmy Kremers, Keith Morrison
ATL came out ahead by $31.2M
1991 · WSN / MIL
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$4.8M
George Canale
MIL · Harry Dalton −$4.8M
Alex Diaz
WSN came out ahead by $4.8M
1991 · WSN / LAD
WSN · Dave Dombrowski +$0.0M
Marc Griffin
LAD · Fred Claire +$0.0M
Ben VanRyn
Even trade

Current & Historical Payroll

1991 payroll
$10.4M

What the front office was committed to as of 1991, 1991–1997. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1991199219931994199519961997
Dennis Martinez3715.000$3.3M$3.3M$2.8MFREE AGENT
Ivan Calderon297.000$2.2M$2.6MFREE AGENT
Oil Can Boyd319.000$919kFREE AGENT
Mike Fitzgerald308.000$700kFREE AGENT
Bill Long316.000$394kFREE AGENT
Ron Darling308.000$184kFREE AGENT
Tim Burke326.000—FREE AGENT
Tom Foley318.000—$365kFREE AGENT$160k
Andres Galarraga306.000—FREE AGENT
Ron Hassey3813.000—FREE AGENT
Rick Mahler3712.000—FREE AGENT
Junior Noboa267.000—FREE AGENT
Spike Owen308.000—$1.2MFREE AGENT
Dave Schmidt3410.000—FREE AGENT
Tim Wallach3311.000—$1.9MFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (4)

PlayerAgeSvc1991199219931994199519961997
Barry Jones285.000$875kFREE AGENT
Nelson Santovenia294.000$282kARB 3FREE AGENT
Kenny Williams275.000$188kFREE AGENT
Dave Martinez265.000$140kFREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (19)

PlayerAgeSvc1991199219931994199519961997
Larry Walker242.000$185kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Gardner292.000$185kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Steve Frey272.000$165kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Sampen281.000$161kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Ruskin281.000$148kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Nabholz241.000$120kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mel Rojas241.000$115kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Barnes241.000$104kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bret Barberie230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Eric Bullock31–—
Delino DeShields221.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jeff Fassero280.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Marquis Grissom242.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Haney220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Doug Piatt25–—
Gilberto Reyes27–—
Nikco Riesgo24–—
John Vander Wal250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
David Wainhouse230.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1991 acquisition stacked onto Nationals's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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